The present invention relates to the field of golf clubs, and more particularly, to the field of golf putters.
The prior art has provided numerous golf clubs, and particularly, golf putters, that are designed to improve the performance of the golfer or otherwise enhance the golfing experience. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,405 to Karsten Solheim discloses a golf club having internal weights at the heel and toe ends of the club with two thin plates connecting them. U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,395 to Morton Reiss shows a golf putter having an elongated head. The head includes a low mass center section with a length at least 1xc2xd times as long as the ball diameter and two more massive end sections. The sections have substantially the same transverse cross section forming a single continuous cylinder. A major portion of the mass is in the end portions which may be connected together longitudinally through the center section by two steel pins. The club shaft is secured to the head centrally in the center section. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,698, issued to Thomas A. Kleinfelter, discloses a golf putter having a circular-cylinder clubhead with a striking face suspended between two flanges near the toe and heel respectively. This is said to provide a center of percussion extending along essentially the entire length of the clubhead to thereby provide an optimum strike against the ball even if the ball contact is off center. Another approach to putter shape, size and weight distribution is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,543 to McGeeney et al. where a center section of the head is of relatively low mass density material and has a longitudinal dimension greater than one and one-half ball diameters. The head has higher density metallic heel and toe portions with an integrally formed hosel extending upwardly from the heel portion. The heel, center and toe portions extend depthwise from a striking surface to a back surface with a substantially uniform depthwise construction.
Numerous other golf clubs have been provided in the prior art described by the designers as enhancements of sound, balance, or human factor considerations.
Some golf clubs known in the art are said to have an awkward xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d when striking a golf ball, believed to be in part because of the distribution of weight within the clubhead. In addition, while the prior art has provided other golf clubs that are said to have a proper feel and to be properly balanced, many of these golf clubs are unattractive and the physical appearance is distractive. Those configurations do not provide the optimum perspective to the golfer as the ball is addressed or audible response as the club strikes the ball. There thus exists a need in the art for a golf club that has an optimum feel, an appearance which supports concentration and a sighting perspective and audible response that optimize the relationship between golfer and putter. It is a general object of the invention to provide a club that satisfies the foregoing criteria.
Specifically, the general objects of the invention include the creation of a golf club, especially a putter, that provides sensual feed-back to the golfer for improved performance. The golfer, golf club and golf ball are connected during the swing and at impact to provide superior sensitivity to the action, a dynamic sense of balance and an enhanced xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d which is fed back visually and by tactile sensations indicative of stroke quality. This is augmented by visual features whereby enhanced xe2x80x9csightingxe2x80x9d is provided. The improved characteristics are believed to result from the shaft and a central body section with a uniquely configured striking surface that are integrated through a connective means. The function of the unique body/shaft configuration is augmented by the other structural and facial features of the invention as described and claimed.
The present invention provides a well-balanced golf club that satisfies the foregoing general objects. The golf club of the invention includes a shaft that has a handle end and a clubhead end. Means connects the clubhead end to a clubhead comprising two basic elements. The two basic clubhead elements are (1) a body portion defining a striking surface integrally related to an aligning surface, to a sighting surface and to the shaft and handle through connection means, and (2) polar weighting including a relatively massive distal toe portion and a similarly massive heel portion secured to the body at the toe end and heel end respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the body portion is secured between the heel and toe portions configured for optimum dynamic balance, inertial stability, sensitive golfer feed-back and related enhanced sighting. The body portion, shaft and connecting means are preferably of low mass density materials compared to the heel portion and toe portion to provide an optimum polar mass distribution. In one preferred embodiment, the toe portion and the heel portion are connected together through an integrally cast medial portion to form a shell by preliminary casting whereby the body is subsequently formed in the shell by a second casting step. This structure and procedure are disclosed in detail in International Patent Publication No. WO 01/10513, which is incorporated in its entirety in this application by reference.
By having the connecting means strategically located on the body, close to the heel portion and of the same low density material as the body and shaft, optimum weight distribution advantages are obtained. The body portion is visible as a flat top surface which assists the golfer in addressing the ball and aligning the club and ball for the putt. The configuration of the connecting means that may be a hosel includes a flat alignment surface which has a synergistic relationship to the body shape and has body/shaft interaction through the connection means.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the clubhead body portion has a striking surface having a cylindrical surface configuration and preferably a cylindrical configuration the longitudinal axis of which is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the clubhead. The striking surface extends between the top surface and a bottom surface forming a portion of the sole of the club. The striking surface is defined by a central segment of a circle centered on the intended hitting spot that correlates with the sweet spot or center of gravity and the top and bottom surfaces. It is a portion of the striking face of the clubhead.
In a preferred embodiment, the combined shaft and body portion and the connecting means includes a reinforcing armature connecting the shaft and body portion, and the body portion is a generally rectilinear blade having an exposed striking surface, a sole surface, a sighting top surface and a rearward sole back shelf. The back configuration of the toe and heel portions may conform to the body. In another preferred embodiment the rear of the body portion is cut-away to define a rear sole shelf to further augment the polar mass distribution while the toe and heel portions are not cut away, thus provided augmented polar mass. However, the invention provides advantages in blade-type putters with or without a cut-away back and in mallet-type putters having various back configurations. The connecting means preferably includes a double offset portion to provide an upper portion aligned with the shaft axis and with the striking surface.
Other features and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.